Convertible function control means for accounting machines



March 8, 1960 c s N ETAL 2,927,728

CONVERTIBLE FUNCTION CONTROL MEANS FOR ACCOUNTING MACHINES Filed July 18, 1955 INVENTORS RAYMOND A. CHRISTIAN a ROBERT C. MlTGHEl L av Q I L mm ww mm mm a 8 ndE THEIR ATTORNEYS United States Patent CONVERTIBLE FUNCTION CONTROL MEANS FOR ACCOUNTING MACHINES Raymond A. Christian and Robert C. Mitchell, Dayton,

Ohio, assignors to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application July 18, 1955, Serial No.i522,560 2 Claims. (Cl. 235-605) This invention relates to adjustable control means for accounting machines and is particularly directed to adjustable function control members or devices for mounting on the traveling carriages of such machines to control the functions thereof.

An object of this invention is to provide a convertible stop mechanism for controlling the selection and functioning of 'the .totalizers. by the traveling carriage of an accounting machine. I

Another object is to provide a control means for accounting machines which is adapted to be firmly but removably secured to the traveling carriage of such machines.

A further object is toprovide a stop or function control mechanism for accounting machines, which may be manipulated to selectively position any one of a plurality of sets of control surfaces to cooperate with control mechanism of the machine, to control the functioning of said machine.

Still a further object is to provide an adjustable stop or function control mechanism for an accounting machine, whereby the machine may be arranged to function in connection with the difierent phases of a business system without the necessity of replacement of one stop mechanism by another for each of said phases.

With these and other objects. in View, which will be come apparent from the following description, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts,.a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a detail front end view of a portion of the convertible stop member and also shows portions of two of the sensing fingers of the accounting; machine with which the control plates of the stop member are adapted to coact.

Fig. 2 is a detail side view of the convertible stop member, partially broken away to show the extended portion of its frame, and also shows the structure of'the accounting machine. with which the stop member coacts.

Fig. 3 is a detail rear end view of the convertible stop member.

Fig-4'is a detail top view of the convertible stop member, particularly showing the cam finger thereon and the means for retainingsaid cam finger in the desired one of a plurality of positions.

Fig. 5 is a disassembled perspective view of the conver-tible stop member.

Description The present invention is particularly adapted'for use with a machine of the type disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,626,749, to Raymond A. Christian et all. It is contemplated that convertible stop members embodying the present invention may, in certain instances, be substituted for the function control devices or carriage stops designated by reference character 1374 in the present invention are provided with a plurality of sets of control surfaces, any one set of which may selectively be.

brought into registry with the scnsingfingers of the ma: chine to control the functions thereof. This is an extremely valuable feature, since accountingfmachines of. the type disclosed inthe previously-mentioned patent are. often employed by their users for a number of differenttypes of uses in connection with abusiness system,.and

each type of use mayrequire a different setting of controlsurfaces in the carriage stops. With, the carriage stops previously employed, this usually necessitated theremoval of an entire program or stop bar assembly and the replacement of it with another assembly having the proper arrangement of carriage stops thereon. However, with the improved stop member of the present invention, several sets of control surfaces may be provided for each member, and the desiredset may simply be indexed to ,a position in which it is in coacting relationship with the sensing fingers of the machine, thus obviating the necessity ofreplacement of the stop members by others having thedesired'sets of control surfaces. As shown in the drawings, the. stop member or function control device of the present invention is provided with a plurality of control plates, including a front control plate 20, a rear control plate 21, and a plurality (four, in the illustrated. embodiment) of intermediate control plates 22. All of these control plates are provided with control surfaces 23, which may be cut to any one of four. different lengths and which may be positioned. to coact with the usual sensing fingers 24 of the accounting machine to control its functioning, as fully disclosed in the previously-mentioned patent. Secured to the rear plate 21 by any suitable method, such as copper brazing, are two shafts 25 and 26, which cooperate with hole in the plates Ztland 22 to secure these plates against rotation relative to each other or to the plate 21. Plates 20 and 22 are retained on shafts 25 and 26 bymeans of nuts 27, which cooperate with threaded portions on the forward ends of said shafts. Each of the plates 231,21, and 22 is provided with an opening for reception of a main shaft 28, which is rotatablymounted in legs '29 and 30 of a frame 31. Secured to the front plate 20 by any suitable method, such as copper brazing, is acollar 32, which in turn is secured to the shaft 28 by means of a pin 33. All of the plates 20, 21, and 22 are thus rigidly connected to the main Shaft 28 and rotate therewith. Spacing collars 34, positioned on the shafts 25 and 26, and between the control plates, space said plates a desired distance apart.

The control plates 29, 21, and 22 may be rotated to and retained in any of three different positions relative to the frame 31. Rotation of the control plates is accomplished by rotation of a selection detent 35, secured to the shaft 28 exteriorly of the frame 31. It will be re called that the control plates are-secured to the shaft 28, and therefore rotation of the detent 35'efiects a correa spending rotation of the control plates. i Y

'The selection detent 35 and the co'ntrol'platcs are retained in any of the three positions by the engagement of a locking plunger 36 with one of three openings 37 in said detent 35. The plunger 36 is mountedfor' slid ing movement in a bore in the frame 31 and is urged by'a spring 38 into engaged position. The spring. 38 is retained on the plunger 36 by means of an enlarged portion 39 on said plunger, which in turn is, retained against movement out of the bore in the frame 31 by, the detent 35. It will be noted that the permissible ro Patented Mar. 3,1360

tational movement of the control plates and the selecting detent 35 is limited by the contact of the side edges of the plates 20, 21, and 2 2 with the edges of the horizontal portion of the frame 31. This limitation of movement of the detent 35 insures that a portion of said detent will always be in obstructing relation to the enlarged portion 39 of the plunger 36. A finger-piece 40 is attached to the plunger 36 at one end thereof. The means for attaching the finger-piece 40 to the plunger 36 is shown here as comprising two nuts 41, cooperating with a threaded portion of the plunger 36, but any suitable securing means may be employed.

A rearward extension 50 of the frame 31 is provided with two apertures for enabling said extension to be removably secured between two side plates 51 and 52. In the illustrated embodiment, the removable securing means is shown as comprising two bolts 53 and cooperat ing nuts54. An additional side plate 55 overlies a portion of the side plate 51 and is spaced therefrom by spacing collars 56.

Positioned between the plates 51 and 52 at the lower end thereof is a block 57, secured in place by two pins 58, which extend through a pair of transverse holes in the block 57 and through registering holes in the plates 51, 52, and 55, and are riveted over at their ends to form a firm connection. The block 57 has two downwardly-extending projections 59 and 60, which are cooperable with mechanism in the accounting machine to which the stop member is applied. The projection 59 constitutes a forward tabulation stop, and the projection 60 constitutes a motor-bar-enabling lug. The block 57 is provided on its underneath side with a transverse groove 61 for receiving a reverse tabulation stop 62 secured to the block 57.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the projection 59 is provided with a horizontally-extending hole, which is adapted to receive a tenon 63 formed on the side of an automatic cycling lug 64, the end of the tenon being riveted over so as to securely fasten the lug to the block 57. The manner in which the elements 59, 60, 62, and 64 coact with mechanism of the accounting machine to control its functioning is fully described in the previously-mentioned patent.

Each of the side plates 51, 52, and 55 is provided with a similar opening or cut-out 65 to enable the stop memher to be secured on a stop or program bar 66, which forms part of the mechanism of the accounting machine and which is provided along its entire length with a series of notches 67 for receiving the side plates. It will be seen that the additional side plate 55, in addition to reinforcing the structure of the stop member, adds to the strength of the connection between the stop member and the stop bar 66 by providing a third set of surfaces for engagement with notches 67 in addition to the surfaces bounding the cut-outs in the side plates 51 and 52. The program bar 66 is undercut at each end, as shown in connection with one end in Fig. 3, to engage slots in brackets 167 secured on an escapement bar 168, in turn secured to the framework of a traveling carriage 169, at the front thereof. The carriage 169 is mounted for lateral shifting movement to various columnar positions, on the main framework of the machine, as fully disclosed in the previously-mentioned United States Patent No. 2,626,749. Each bracket 167 carries a pin 170, which pins engage holes in said brackets and similar holes in the undercut ends of the program bar 66, to removably mount said bar on the traveling carriage.

, In order to attach the stop member to the stop bar at' a selected point along its length, the frame 31 is dis assembled from the side plates 51 and 52 by first unscrewing the nuts 54 and removing the bolts 53. The conneoted plates 51, 52, and 55 are then placed in the desired location on the stop bar 66 and slid into engagement with the appropriate ones of the notches 67 on said bar, after which the extension 50 of the frame 31 is positioned between the plates 51 and 52, and secured in place by bolts 53 and nuts 54. To remove the stop member from the stop bar 66, the bolts and the nuts 53 and 54, respectively, are removed from the stop member, the extension 50 of the frame 31 is moved out of its position between the plates 51 and 52, and the connected plates 51, 52, and 55 are slid off the stop bar 66. It is thus apparent that the stop member may be easily and quickly secured to and removed from the stop bar 66 as desired.

A stud 68 is secured in the leg 29 of the frame 31 and cooperates with a groove 69 in a structural member 70 attached to the accounting machine, to prevent any twisting movement in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, of the stop member, which might be imparted to it by the impact of the sensing fingers 24 on the control surfaces 23 of the control plates 20,21, and 22. The structural member 70 is positioned on the machine in alinement with the sensing fingers 24, so that the stud 68 will be in coacting relation with the groove 69 only when the stop member is in effective position, in which position one set of the control surfaces 23 on the control plates 20, 21, and 22 is in the path of movement of the sensing fingers 24.

The side plates 51 and 52 are provided with upward extensions and 81, respectively, for mounting an additional control means on the stop member. A pin 82 extends between the extensions 80 and 81 and is riveted over at its ends to secure these two extensions relatively to each other. Each extension is provided with two parallel slots 83, one above the other, and two companion parallel slots 34, one above the other and in horizontal alinement with said slots 83. Mounted on a cam finger 85 by means of a stud 86 is a roller 87, which is adapted to cooperate with a tappet arm 88 (Fig. 2) on the accounting machine to control the usual wheel dater device. The finger 85 is mounted for sliding movement between the extensions 89 and 81 by means of cars 39 (Fig. 4), which ride in the upper slots 83, and by means of wing portions 90, which ride in the upper slots 84.

The cam finger 85 may be retained in any one of three positions by a detent 91, pivotally mounted on finger 85 by a stud 92. The detent 91 is provided with two projections 93 and 94 and with a downwardly-struck portion 95, which is adapted to cooperate with either of two similar depressions 96 in the finger S5 to retain the detent 91 in either of two positions relative to the finger 85.

The finger 85 is retained in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4 by the engagement of the projection 93 of the detent 91 with the upper portion of the upper slot 84 in the extension 80. Upon withdrawal of the projection 93 from this opening, the finger 85 may be advanced to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4, to a second position, in which the projection 94 may enter the upper portion of the upper slot 84 in the extension 81, to retain the finger in this position. The finger 85 may also assume a third position, in which the projection 93 of the detent 91 engages the vertical edge 97 of the extension 80. This engagement prevents movement of the finger 85 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, and the engagement of the ears 89 with the rightmost edges of the slots 83 prevents move-. ment of the finger 85 to the right, thereby retaining the finger 85 in the third position. In the event that it is desired to have a stop member which does not include means for controlling the wheel dater, it would, of course, be obvious to form the side plates 51 and 52 without extensions 80 and 81, respectively, and to omit the cam finger 85, the roller 87, and the detent 91 from the structure of the stop member.

Inasmuch as the mechanism comprising the present invention is not of a complicated nature, it is believed that a full understanding of the operation of said mechanism will have been obtained from a perusal of the preceding specification, and for this reason it is thought untions and having a traveling carriage shiftable to various columnar positions, and a program bar removably mounted on the traveling carriage and extending substantially the full length thereof, the combination of a function-control device for each columnar position of the traveling carriage, said device removably supported on the program bar and adjustable on said bar in relation to the various columnar positions of the traveling carriage, said device comprising in combination a frame; a shaft rotatably mounted in the frame; a plurality of control plates secured on the shaft, said plates each having three sets of control surfaces formed thereon, to control the various functions of the machine; a detent plate secured on the shaft and manually operable to rotate said shaft and the control plates to position any desired set of control surfaces in an effective position, said detent plate having three apertures therein corresponding to the three sets of control surfaces; a spring-loaded plunger, mounted in the frame and operable to engage any one of the apertures to retain the selected set of control surfaces in effective position; and a finger piece integral with the plunger for operating same.

2. In an accounting machine capable of various functions and having means including sensing elements to control said various functions, ,a traveling carriage shift.- able to various columnar positions, and a program bar mounted horizontally on the traveling carriage and extending substantially the full length thereof, the combination of a function control device for each columnar position of the traveling carriage, said devices removably mounted on the program bar and adjustable on said bar in relation to various predetermined columnar positions, each of said devices comprising in combination a frame; a shaft journaled in the frame; a plurality of control plates secured on the shaft, said plates each having three sets of control surfaces thereon constructed and arranged to coact with the sensing elements to control the various functions of the machine; a detent plate secured on the shaft and manually operable to rotate said shaft and the control plates to position any desired set of control surfaces in coacting relationship with the sensing elements, said detent plate having three apertures therein corresponding to the three sets of control surfaces; a spring-loaded plunger mounted in the frame and operating to engage any one of the apertures to retain the selected set of control surfaces in coacting relationship with the sensing elements; and a finger piece integral with the plunger for operating same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,296,953 Hart Mar. 11, 1919 1,397,774 Muller Nov. 22, 1921 1,800,197 Blaisdell Apr. 14, 1931 2,229,765 Bower Jan. 28, 1941 2,258,714 Pitman Oct. 14, 1941 2,492,887 Rainey Dec. 27, 1949 2,626,749 Christian Jan. 27, 1953 2,629,549 Butler Feb. 24, 1953 2,709,511 Dicke May 31, 1955 2,727,681 Bogert Dec. 20, 1955 

